Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

श्रीसूत उवाच । पापनाशे नरः स्नात्वा सर्वपापनिबर्हणे । ततः सीतासरो गच्छेत्स्नातुं नियमपूर्वकम्

Transliteration

śrīsūta uvāca | pāpanāśe naraḥ snātvā sarvapāpanibarhaṇe | tataḥ sītāsaro gacchetsnātuṃ niyamapūrvakam

Translation

Śrī Sūta dit : Après s’être baigné à Pāpanāśa, qui efface tous les péchés, l’homme doit ensuite se rendre au lac de Sītā et s’y baigner selon la règle et l’observance prescrites.

Word by Word

• श्रीसूतः: Śrī Sūta
• श्रीसूतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रीसूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—श्री + सूत (कर्मधारयः)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• पापनाशे: at/ in the ‘sin-destroying’ (place)
• पापनाशे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पापनाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—पापस्य नाशः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभावः; ‘having bathed’

• सर्वपापनिबर्हणे: in the remover of all sins (place)
• सर्वपापनिबर्हणे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + पाप + निबर्हण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; समासः—सर्वेषां पापानां निबर्हणम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) ‘thereafter/from there’

• सीतासरः: Sītā-lake
• सीतासरः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सीता + सरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—सीतायाः सरः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• स्नातुम्: to bathe
• स्नातुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (Infinitive), अव्ययभावः

• नियमपूर्वकम्: according to prescribed observance
• नियमपूर्वकम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नियम + पूर्वक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावः—नियमेन पूर्वकम् (‘with observance as prior/according to rule’), क्रियाविशेषणवत्

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa/Sūta narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pāpanāśa; Sītā-saras

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas/assembled sages (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim, guided by a sage’s instruction, completes a first bath at a sin-destroying ford and then walks to a serene lotus-lake (Sītā-saras) to bathe with ritual discipline.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Pāpanāśa (tīrtha)
• Sītā-saras (tīrtha)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purification is strengthened when pilgrimage bathing is done in sequence and with niyama (disciplined observance), not casually.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Pāpanāśa and Sītā-saras, both presented as purifying tīrthas within the Setu Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) first at Pāpanāśa and then at Sītā-saras, performed niyama-pūrvakam (with vows/discipline).